The training of firefighters in USA and Japan

(Part II of “Where Did We Fail in Police Force Training”)

The Philippine National Police Academy is in charge of training the personnel for the Bureau of Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Jail Management and the Bureau of Fire Protection. This second article about firefighters complements the first on the training of policemen.

The debacle of Ground Zero

At the break of the Millennium on Sept. 11, 2001, American firefighters became global heroes when a hundred of them gave their lives trying to rescue office employees of 430 companies occupying the 110 stories of the Twin Towers in New York.

One of them is firefighter Ronald Coyman whom I interviewed. Four of Mr. Coyman’s colleagues died during the Twin Towers rescue efforts of all fire stations of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Having retired, Mr. Coyman is now a volunteer fireman. I met him and a couple of his colleagues (part of a team of 60 volunteer firemen) at his residence at Warwick Court, River Edge County, New Jersey where my niece Maritess Ramos also lives. His pager frequently beeped with incoming 911 calls. He took Maritess and me to their fire station at 55 Ackerson Street.

We saw slick fire trucks including the “engine company” that carries water to supplement the fire hydrant existing on site of the fire, the “ladder company” that brings ladders and other tools essential for burning high rise buildings, and the emergency medical truck or the “rescue company” that holds specialized tools, like the heavy scissors used for ripping open a car which has pinned down a passenger in an accident.

In career departments, there are usually 3 to 4 members for each fire truck. Two firehouses cover three towns including River Edge (12,000 residents) as part of a mutual aid group called “triboro”.

Steps to becoming a firefighter

US firefighters must have a high school diploma and hold a valid driver’s license. Though firefighters must be 18 years old in order to work, limited on-the-job training can begin at a younger age. There may be a limit on age as well, usually between 28 and 30 years old.

Applicants must be physically fit and may be required to pass a criminal background check and drug screening as well.

Typically, fire departments participate in recruitment fairs when they are looking for new recruits. To enter a training program, applicants take at least two exams: a written tests and a Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). The written exam typically consists of around 100 multiple-choice questions and covers spatial awareness, reading comprehension, mechanical reasoning, logic, observation and memory.

Applicants must also pass a rigorous physical fitness test. They should be able to perform a distance run in an allotted period of time, climb flights of stairs at a rapid pace, and lift and carry up to 200 pounds. Has to be modified for pint-size Filipinos.

Entrance way to careers in fire science

For those who want to go on to careers in fire science, paramedics, or advance to leadership roles within firefighting agencies, there are associate and bachelor’s degree programs at colleges, universities and trade schools.

If a prospective fire organization requires it, a young firefighter may need to complete an EMT Paramedic training and pass those certificate exams before applying for work.

Let’s match the fire service know-how and skills in Japan

Japan is an archipelago like the Philippines. It is beset with continuous earthquakes and at worse, tsunamis which is much less in our country.

To impart fire service know-how and skills, the Fire and Disaster Management College has been established at the national level and fire academies at the prefectural level. In this way, functions for training are shared by the central government, prefectures and municipalities, and their mutual linkages.

As of April 1, 2004, 56 fire academies had been established in each of the 47 prefectures of Sapporo, Chiba, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, and the Tokyo Fire Department.

Training standards in fire academies, such as the Fire Academy Training Standards (FATS), have also been established. According to these, training in fire academies consists of recruit training, special course training, manager training and special training for fire service personnel and a similar course for volunteers.

Because volunteer firefighters are assigned individual duties, a firefighting school may dispatch an instructor to provide training when it is found that it will be difficult to satisfy the educational needs of firefighters through the system of training provided at a firefighting school.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

The Philippines may not be besieged with as much calamities as Japan but we have the same geography. We should look up to the extreme care Japan has been practicing to train firefighters from its capital city of Tokyo, down to her various regions (prefectures) and municipalities.

Dealing with the variety of natural and manmade disasters requires a diversity of complex skills to defend and secure the 120 million Filipinos.

It is not enough to package one safety net with Republic Act 7975, otherwise known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Section 66 of RA 6975, which was established to constitute the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).

How can this be considered as the premier educational institution for the over all training of three major agencies of police force, firefighters and prison managers – each with its own discipline?

Daily accounts of corruption, dishonest practices, fraud, immorality and degeneracy occur in the police force, firefighters and overcrowded penal institutions of our country.

What is the true situation in the so called “human resource development and continuing education” of all personnel of Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology?

This calls for a major overhaul of our security forces and its management.

Have DepEd, CHED, TESDA and the DILG looked into the indispensible track of National Defense and Security of the nation for Senior High School training, particularly the revival of the ROTC program?

If we start with the youth that is not yet tainted with dishonest practices is like taking an ounce of prevention that is worth a pound of cure.